Kiseki no Christmas
by Virelei
Summary: Christmas of Miracles! It's Christmas, and each one of the Generation of Miracles have a special day of their own. What becomes of this day? AkaKuro, AoKise, MidoTaka, and MuraHimu. Christmas special! Sweet chapters for each of these couples.
1. Akashi and Kuroko

Kiseki no Christmas

Christmas of Miracles

Kuroko Tetsuya sat warmly in front of the fireplace. The open flame flickered wildly; invitingly. A heavy blanket sat around his shoulders, a cup of hot tea next to him. Red and green lights flickered half-heartedly above the fireplace, while one stocking hung from the ledge over the fire. _Tetsuya _was sewn in blue string on the stocking. A small Christmas tree sat lonely in a corner, decorated grandly with bright lights and ornaments, but there were no gifts under the tree. The space beneath the green pine-needles was bare and empty.

The teal-haired teen knew his parents' gifts would come late through the mail, since they were going to be shipped all the way from America. His father and mother were on a business trip and, like always, were not able to come home for Christmas day. It was like this every year, with his parents coming up with some excuse to not come home for Christmas. Even though he was not Christian, his father—who was raised in America—liked celebrating Christmas and always bought new decorations every year. Then, about two to three days before the holiday, his parents disappeared on some trip.

Kuroko remembered his middle school days, where Teiko's basketball team in the first string would always throw a small party a day before Christmas Eve. Kise and Midorima would plan the activities, Aomine and Murasakibara would help with the decorations, and Akashi would provide the drinks and food. The Generation of Miracles always refused to let Kuroko do anything big, and the only job Kuroko would get to do is to pick the music or help pick the theme. The party was always thrown at one of the Generation of Miracles' house, particularly Aomine's house since his house was much larger than everybody else's.

The White Elephant gift exchange was always part of the activities during the party. It was something Akashi had picked up from his time in America. Even though it was supposed to be one gift per person for the game, everybody gave something to Kuroko. He didn't know why, since he was usually the shadow of their team, but each year he was given a gift from everyone.

Then, on Christmas Eve, Kuroko was left alone.

It was the same this year, too. Kagami had also gone back to America to visit his parents during the break, but not before giving Kuroko a basketball keychain as a gift. The rest of Seirin's basketball team were either busy with their families or out of the country. Everyone was gone, leaving him to stay behind.

The microwave's constant beeping had Kuroko come out of his thoughts. It hummed loudly from the kitchen. The small teen stood up, letting the blanket fall to his feet. He left the warm fireplace reluctantly to pad toward the kitchen. The relentless sound stopped when he opened the microwave door and took out his meal. It was the standard Japanese Christmas meal: Kentucky fried chicken. His mother had bought some before her trip and stored it for Christmas. Kuroko, not knowing how to cook or how to heat it through the oven, simply stuffed it in the microwave.

He brought the plate of chicken over to the chair in front of the fireplace and set it on the small table along with the hot cup of tea. The eerie silence didn't bother him, since he was used to it. He actually found it comfortable, having lived in this silence for all his life.

The pale boy started picking at the chicken, not sure if he would be able to finish the whole meal. While it looked small in some else's eyes, the dinner looked large to Kuroko. He slowly started to eat it, his eyes transfixed onto the dying flames. The fireplace was lit hours ago, so it was no wonder the fire was starting to die out.

A loud doorbell rang throughout his house, making Kuroko jump and drop his chicken. He frowned at the waste of food, but wondered at the same time who would be visiting him, especially at this hour? Kuroko checked the grand clock and noted it was seven in the evening. Shouldn't everybody be with their families? The doorbell's rings answered his question.

Throwing away the piece of chicken, Kuroko wiped his hands with a towel and strode toward the door. He unlocked it, peeked his head out just a bit, and widened his eyes when he realized who it was.

"Aka—Akashi-kun."

True enough, Akashi Seijuro stood in front of his apartment's door with a small wrapped gift in his hands and a small backpack over his right shoulder. He wore many layers as clothes to protect himself from the cold. It was snowing lightly, so the black beanie he lazily wore was covered in flakes of snow, along with the tip of his boots and shoulders. His neck was wrapped with a plain, navy blue scarf, which accompanied a warm, red button-down coat, and black gloves. His red hair stuck out from under his beanie.

"Tetsuya," Akashi greeted.

"What are you doing here?" Kuroko questioned. He had not seen the red-head lately, since both of them were usually busy during the beginning of December.

Akashi raised an eyebrow. "Should you not invite me in, first? I am sure you are quite warm in the comfort of your house. The snow, however, is not warm."

Kuroko, embarrassed at his bad manners, opened his door wider, "Please come in," he said quietly.

Akashi smirked and murmured a 'thanks' before stepping inside. Kuroko shut the door softly, locked it, then turned around to meet the sudden guest. Akashi had already taken off his boots and was making his way toward the family room. The teal haired boy followed him, confused.

Akashi wordlessly glanced at the flickering fireplace, the blanket, the Christmas tree, tea, and fried chicken. Kuroko went to clean up hastily in front of him. "There is no need, Tetsuya," Akashi murmured to stop the cleaning Kuroko.

"What are you doing here, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked again. He stood to face the taller boy. The gift in his hands caught his attention, but he waved off the interest, since he was sure the gift was not for him.

Now up close, Kuroko noticed Akashi's face was slightly flushed from the cold. Instead of his usual pale face, hints of pink colored his cheek and nose area. His skin contrasted nicely with his hetero-red-and-yellow eyes. Kuroko also noted that, despite his beanie, dusts of snow clung onto Akashi's red hair like water droplets. Some strands clung to his forehead. His pale pink lips were chapped from the cold air outside. Akashi's face was the only thing exposed to Kuroko; the rest were covered by clothes.

"Do you realize you're staring?" Akashi's voice made Kuroko blink and stepped back one step in surprise. The red-head followed and bent down just a bit to come face to face with the shorter boy. Kuroko could feel the other's breath on his face. "Why were you staring, Tetsuya?"

The said boy did some quick thinking and reached for a small fluff that stuck onto Akashi's beanie. His fingers enclosed around it and held it in front of Akashi's face, "There was something on your hat," he said blandly.

Akashi pursed his lips and stood his full height again. "Hm," he replied. "And acknowledging your question, my answer is because I want to be here."

"You—want to be here?" Kuroko repeated. "What about your family?"

"They, like yours, are buried in business related projects." _How does he know Otou-san and Okaa-san are on a business trip? _Kuroko wondered, but then quickly shook his head. Akashi knew everything. He should know that by now. "Are you busy tonight?"

Kuroko furrowed his blue eyebrows. "Busy? No. I only had plans to stay at home tonight." It was pretty obvious, from the way the blanket hung from the chair, the now-cold fried chicken on the table, and the tea next to it. He had no plans to go out on this cold and lonely night.

But Akashi did. "Get dressed, then," he ordered. "Something warm, as it will be cold. Bring a scarf."

"H-huh?" the teal-haired teen tried to comprehend his former captain's words. "Get . . . dressed?"

"Yes. Get dressed. And hurry," he looked at the clock. "We need to be there before it starts."

"Be where, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi gave him an annoyed glance. "You will see. Now go."

Still confused, Kuroko rushed to his room to change. He picked out what he thought was warm and put it on. The teen didn't have many scarves, so he went to his father's room to borrow one. He came back to the family room to find Akashi standing in the exact same spot as he had before he left. Kuroko wore a dark blue turtleneck, a light sweater, followed by a black scarf and washed jeans.

Akashi casted a disapproving glance at his choice of clothes. "You think that is warm?" he demanded.

Kuroko frowned and looked at his clothes. "It feels uncomfortable if I wear too many layers."

The red-head shook his head and sighed. "It doesn't matter if you're uncomfortable. It is better than catching a cold." Akashi unbuttoned his long, red coat and walked behind Kuroko to help him put it on. When Kuroko tried to refuse, the taller glared to silence him. Kuroko had no choice but to slide his arms through the sleeves. He pinked when Akashi buttoned it and brought up the collar more, even though his neck was covered by a turtleneck and a scarf.

Akashi also took off his beanie, shook off the snow, and roughly put it over Kuroko's head. The pale boy almost whined at the treatment, but kept it to himself and gently fixed the beanie to the right position. Akashi's scent filled Kuroko's nose.

Under the red coat, the former captain wore a heavy black sweater, so the loss of the jacket would not make him cold. However, the jacket that he had given to Kuroko was a little too big, as the sleeves hung empty at the bottom since Kuroko's arms were not long enough to fit it completely. Red also did not match Kuroko, but the red-head figured it would keep him warm.

"Is this really necessary, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked.

"Yes," Akashi answered. "It is snowing, and it is colder outside at night. If you were to catch a cold because of your poor choice in clothing, this day would not be worth it." He brushed off some snow from his hair. "Come. We have to leave, now."

"Can you please tell me where we are going?"

"Again, you will see. Put on your boots. I don't want to see you wearing your basketball shoes in the snow." Akashi put on his shoes and grabbed the wrapped present and mysterious backpack.

Kuroko obeyed every command, and soon they were entering the cold and icy world.

Akashi led the way to the streets silently. Kuroko struggled to catch up with his fast strides. They stopped at a stoplight and looked out to the almost empty street. Since Christmas Eve was yesterday, and the dates and outings already happened on that day, most families stayed at home. Some went to school.

"We'll have to walk," Akashi said when he saw no taxi in view. "It's a short walk." Kuroko didn't bother to ask where their destination was, again.

The two crossed streets, turned corners, and made mysterious turns into remote places. The walk seemed long, but in reality, it was only five minutes. Akashi stopped in front of a large, secretive hill that Kuroko didn't even know existed in this city. "We'll be climbing this hill. Don't slip." He let the teal-haired teen go first, just in case Kuroko did fall because of the snow, and he would be there to catch him. They treaded up slowly. Kuroko could feel the snow seeping into his toes, making them numb and frozen. By the time they reached the top, the wind had gotten stronger, and Kuroko was left shivering.

Akashi frowned, unaffected by the wind. "I did tell you it would be cold." He brought the black beanie lower to cover Kuroko's ears and tightened the scarf he wore. "Come. There's a specific spot we have to sit."

_We're sitting? _Kuroko looked at the snowy ground and flinched at the thought of sitting on a cold, wet surface. Nevertheless, he obeyed his former captain and followed him without question.

Akashi led him across the hill and to the other edge, where it slowly sloped down to the ground. When Kuroko reached his spot, his breath was stolen. The view before him simply took his breath away. Of course, there were the regular Tokyo lights that lit up the whole city every night. There was also the beautiful snow that blanketed the world around them. Yet Kuroko set his eyes right in front of him. Multiple basketball courts laid out before him, the concrete-that basketball players were supposed to play on-covered in a thin layer of snow. It was the hoops that caught Kuroko's eyes.

The city had taken the liberty this year to wrap the basketball poles in dazzling lights. Each hoop was held by a lit pole. Some were wrapped with bright, white lights, others with flickering colorful lights, and the rest with simple blue lights. Kuroko blinked at the beauty. When had they done this? And why had he not noticed when he lived so close by?

Akashi fought a small smile at the teal-haired teen's reaction. He dropped his backpack into the snow while Kuroko was busy with the lights and pulled out a thick, snow-resistant blanket. Setting it over the snow in a small square that would fit two people, he took out another blanket, this time to use for warmth. "Tetsuya."

Kuroko turned around. His eyes widened a few centimeters at the set up. "Sit, Tetsuya."

Relieved that he didn't have to sit on the wet, freezing snow, he hurried over to the blanket and quickly sat down. A warm cloth covered him, and he looked up questionably at Akashi, who had draped it over him. "Even with all the clothes you have on, I have no doubt you will still catch a cold," the red-head said calmly.

Akashi dug through his backpack once more and grabbed the last remaining items: two thermoses filled with hot tea. He threw one at Kuroko, who caught it clumsily. Soon, the passer and point guard sat next to each other on the make-shift 'ground'. Kuroko blushed slightly when he realized how close Akashi was to him. He could practically smell the red-head's scent.

"What did you bring me here for, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko questioned. He looked at the lit-up basketball court. "For that?"

"Part of that, yes," Akashi answered and looked at the time on his cell phone. "Hm, it should start now. Look up at the sky, Tetsuya."

He did. As if on cue, a streak of light flew toward the sky and exploded in smaller streaks of light. Kuroko cringed at the loud sound it created, but stared in awe nonetheless. More fireworks decorated the sky in all different shapes, colors, and sizes. There was a basketball firework, which caught both basketball players' attention. Kuroko stared, mesmerized at the beauty of the fireworks. He knew Tokyo sometimes did fireworks just for fun on this day, but he had always watched it from the comfort of his home, alone. He had never watched it from outside, on a hill, with another person. Somehow, the attraction of the illuminations was different from watching it from his house to watching it from this very hill.

A cold, papery box was placed into his hands. Kuroko looked down and saw the wrapped gift he noticed Akashi carried around. What he had failed to see, though, was the small tag that read:

_To: Tetsuya_

_From: Akashi_

"Open it," Akashi commanded. "It is for you."

"M-me?" Kuroko whispered.

Akashi patted the teal head and leaned in next to his ear. "Yes. For you. Open it."

With shaky, gloved fingers, he slowly ripped open the gift. Since he wore gloves, it was a harder task than usual. But he managed to open it fully, and what lay underneath the wrapping paper made him freeze.

A beautiful picture frame bordered with gold and silver designs was held fragilely in his hands. Inside the picture frame was a picture; a picture of Teiko's first string of the basketball team. Young Akashi stood in front of the picture, holding a basketball. Kuroko, in his basketball uniform, stood on the right side, slightly behind Akashi. Kise was in a similar position, but on the left side. Aomine, whom Akashi had to threaten to come for the picture, was behind Kise and looked slightly unhappy. Midorima stood behind Kuroko with a toy duck in his right hand. Rather than his eyes trained on the camera, they were trained on Aomine. Murasakibara, the tallest of all, stood at the back with chocolate smeared all over his mouth.

Each player had a smile. Aomine, even if there was a scowl on his face, grinned. Midorima had a slight smile, slight frown—you couldn't really tell. Murasakibara simply gave a huge grin, ignorant of the chocolate on his face. Kise had a peace sign and showed off his 'perfect, white teeth'. Only Akashi and Kuroko had a subtle smile, but it was there all the same.

The teal-haired boy remembered taking this picture in his third year of middle school. Nobody had really wanted to take a group picture—except for Kise—but Akashi forced them to all come. Of course, they couldn't really disobey the red-head, so they had obediently came for the picture. Akashi had to convince Aomine a little more.

"You are never alone," Akashi whispered in Kuroko's ear. He snaked an arm around the shaking boy. Kuroko's body leaned into his. "It does not matter if Seirin is not there, or if I am not there; you were not alone." He placed a kiss to Kuroko's temple. The teal-haired teen fisted Akashi's sweater.

"Thank you, Akashi-kun," Kuroko softly said. "Thank you."

"No, Tetsuya." Akashi grabbed the pale chin and brought it close to his face. "We all should be thanking you." He closed the space before them. Kuroko's soft lips met Akashi's. At first, Tetsuya was frozen and unresponsive, but soon his lips moved with the red-head's. Kuroko's arms wrapped around Akashi's body while Akashi's hands cradled his cold face gently; caringly. He moved his body closer to the larger frame, to which Akashi complied easily. Their bodies fitting perfectly and their lips moving slowly, Kuroko could barely feel the cutting wind nor hear the booming fireworks. He could smell Akashi's scent, hear his ragged breathing, feel his former captain's chapped lips, and see nothing but the back of his eyelids.

The kiss did not involve tongue or forcefulness. It was only a tender, sweet kiss, as if Kuroko would break if it went any further than that. Akashi was the first to pull apart. He chuckled at the subtle longing look in Kuroko's eyes, but interlocked their gloved fingers tightly. Nothing much was said after that; words weren't needed in their situation. Only to watch the fading fireworks, feel their warm hands squeeze together, and their bodies enclosed tightly with each other was all they needed for communication.

_Merry Christmas, Akashi-kun. _Kuroko closed his eyes.

_Merry Christmas, Tetsuya. _Akashi placed a kiss on his head.

(Please tell me if there are typos or grammatical mistakes. Hope you enjoyed this AkaKuro special!)


	2. Aomine and Kise

Note: This is Christmas morning. It is a different time from Akashi and Kuroko.

"Aominecchi!" a whiny, loud voice called to the tanned player. "You walk too fast!"

"No, you just walk too slowly!" came the irritated reply.

"I do not! Aominecchi's mean!"

"Shut up!"

Kise pouted at the command, but did so anyway. The two had been walking for the past hour in circles around the busy city of Fujiyoshida in the Yamanashi Prefacture. Apparently, Aomine had tickets to the famous amusement park Fuji-Q Highland and invited Kise to come along with him. It just _had _to be in an unknown prefecture none of them were familiar with, and it just happened to be a busy morning in this city, so the two were hopelessly lost.

And since _Ah_omine was too stubborn to ask for directions, Kise was forced to follow his bad sense of direction for an hour. "Aominecchi, we should just ask where it is," Kise protested. "My legs hurt!"

"No, they don't," Aomine snapped.

"How do you know? My legs could be on fire for all you know!"

"Will you _shut up?_"

Kise blew a raspberry at him.

Aomine had to restrain himself from strangling the blonde.

They walked for another thirty minutes, circling around and around until Kise got dizzy and tired. "Excuse me!" Kise yelled to a man who was handing out flyers. "Do you know where Fuji-Q Highland is?"

The man gave the blonde and blue heads a weird look. "Yes . . . It's right over there." He pointed to the right. Aomine and Kise turned in that direction. The tip of a large rollercoaster popped out before their eyes. A large arch that lit up brightly even during the day flashed: "FUJI-Q-HIGHLAND".

The two sweat-dropped. How had they missed that? "Thanks," Aomine mumbled and dejectedly walked toward the amusement park. Kise bowed frantically before running to catch up with the tanned teen. "I would have found it eventually, Kise!" Aomine angrily said. "You didn't need to ask!"

"Stop being a sore sport," the ace copier pouted. "You would have never found it!"

"I would to!"

"Would not!"

"Would to!"

"Would _not!_"

Aomine fisted his blue hair. "Just be quiet, okay? Keep your mouth shut!"

Kise blew another raspberry.

They somehow _managed_ to walk to the front booth of the amusement park and turn in their tickets for passes. Kise was rubbing a sore spot on his head where Aomine punched him. _Aominecchi is so mean, _he whined. _Humph, I'll stay mad at him the whole day! I won't go on any rides, and I'll beat him in the basketball shooting booths, and I won't share my prizes—_

"Oi, Kise," Aomine jabbed his thumb toward a cotton candy shack. "Do you want some?"

Grudge forgotten, Kise flung himself at the taller teen, "Aominecchi is so nice!" he cried. "Buy me cotton candy!"

"Get off of me!"

Two hot dogs, a few drinks, and two yellow and blue cotton candies later, Kise and Aomine were ready to hit the rides. "Let's go to that one, first!" Kise pointed excitedly to the biggest and fastest roller coaster there was in the theme park.

Aomine gulped and looked around frantically to bail himself out of riding that disastrous roller coaster. "Ah . . . I think we should ride that one, first, though," he pointed to the smallest ride. It was slow, mostly middle school kids were in line, and the ride was short. It seemed perfect to him.

Kise frowned. "No way! It looks boring."

"Y-yeah, but shouldn't we start with the small rides and go to the bigger rides after?"

"But I want to start with that one!" The blonde insisted, pointing back to the biggest roller coaster. He gave a sneaky glance at the sweating teen. "Don't tell me . . . Aominecchi's scared?"

"N-no! I'm not scared," Aomine denied immediately. "Fine, you want to go on that ride? We'll go on the damn roller coaster." He scowled and started walking toward the short line to the once world's tallest roller coaster, Fujiyama. He shivered at the screams emitted from the people dropping down the steep slope. Truth be told, he didn't want to go on the ride at all, but he also didn't want Kise to know he was _scared_.

"N-neh, Kise, you sure you don't want to go on another one? The line is pretty long," Aomine nervously said.

The blonde gave him a strange look. "There are only two people in front of us, Aominecchi." Damn.

"Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. An attendant will come around to check your seatbelts. This ride is a fast-motion ride with twists, turns, and dramatic movement. Please be sure to have all your belongings safe and secure. Thank you for joining us here, today, at Fuji-Q Highland!"

Aomine had made Kise sit at the outside edge of the rollercoaster, while he sat on the inside. Then, he tightened his seatbelt so tight that he could hardly breathe, but he felt safe. Unconsciously, he also started to tighten Kise's seatbelt.

"Itai!" Kise yelped as his belt constricted around his waist. "Aominecchi! What are you doing?"

He didn't answer. He only straightened in his seat and grabbed the handlebars nervously. The attendant did a quick check before giving a thumbs up to the other attendant. "Enjoy the ride!"

The car lurched forward. Aomine held on for dear life. The basketball players could feel themselves be turned literally parallel to the ground. Kise grinned. Aomine choked and did a prayer. He knew this day would be his last.

They made it up to the top after a loud, dramatic ascent. Tōō's ace didn't dare look down. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the dreadful fall that was sure to come. It came. Their car tipped forward, and soon the passengers screamed as they fell face-forward toward the ground. They rocketed down at 130 kilometers per hour [80 miles per hour]. Aomine, all 85 kilograms (187 pounds), felt himself being lifted from the seat.

Kise laughed and clapped his hands at the exhilaration. The wind in his hair felt refreshing.

The tanned player, however, hung onto Kise for his life.

Three minutes later, the ride came onto an abrupt stop. The blonde groaned in disappointment, while others—including Aomine—breathed a sigh of relief. "That was fun, Aominecchi!" Kise said gleefully. They walked through the exit gates; the copier thanking the attendants. "Let's go on it, again!"

"N-no way," Aomine wheezed. He wobbled over to an empty bench and sat down. "I feel sick." Luckily, there was a trash can next to him.

Kise plopped down next to the ace and looked at him with concern. "Are you okay, Aominecchi? You weren't really scared, right?" A horrified look came onto his face. "If you were, I'm sorry!" he wailed. "I thought it would be fun and—"

"Baka, I wasn't scared," he snapped. "The ride—just took me by surprise, that's all. Let me rest for a bit."

The copier was still unsure, but mumbled an 'okay' anyways. When five minutes passed and Aomine was still feeling dizzy, Kise scooted closer subtly and leaned in toward the ace. He placed a shy kiss on his cheek. Aomine, in response, jumped and almost crashed into the trash bin. "W-what are you doing, K-Kise?" he stammered.

The said boy's face was slightly red, but he gave a sly smile anyway. "Do you feel better?"

Aomine blinked. He tried to make sense of the idiotic words that were just spouted. He had been . . . kissed . . . to _make him feel better_? His cheeks pinked. He looked away from the blonde, who was busy looking toward the ground. He raised his fist and suddenly smashed it onto the Kise's head. "_Aho._"

"It-ai!" Kise whined. His hands flew up to the injured spot. "That hurt, Aominecchi!" Easy tears came to his brown eyes.

"Shut up," he muttered. "Come on; let's go before we waste the day. And we're _not _going onto that ride, again." Aomine stood up and stretched his limbs. He had tightened them during the rollercoaster, so his muscles were tense and sore. "We can ride that swing one. Come on."

"No."

Aomine stopped. "Hah?" The tanned player whirled around to face the unmoving teen.

Kise stood with his feet shoulder-width wide apart and his arms crossed over his chest. His lower lip slightly jutted out. "I'm not going anywhere unless you give me a kiss back."

_"Hah?"_ the shocked ace repeated.

"It's only fair!" Kise exclaimed. He glared defiantly at Aomine. "I gave you a kiss; you give it back."

Aomine groaned and slapped a hand over his face. He couldn't believe they were actually discussing this. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Kise." The blonde refused to move. Aomine gave an exasperated sigh and strode toward him. "Fine, you want one?" He roughly grabbed Kise's chin. Teiko's copier gave a surprised gasp before his mouth was rudely smashed with another. The kiss was gruff and short, tasting like the hot dogs they ate earlier. Yet, it was also sweet, and soft, and said more than anything they could have said. Kise's hands went around the slightly taller player, while Aomine's arms went around Kise's waist. They broke apart seconds after. "There. Are you happy?" Aomine grumbled. His tanned face revealed a layer of pink. He tried to hide it by looking the other way.

Kise laughed and threw himself onto his partner. The receiver scrambled to catch him before he fell. "Oi, be careful."

"Aominecchi?" he whispered into his ear.

"What?"

"Merry Christmas."

Aomine rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Merry Christmas."

"Oh, and Aominecchi?"

"Now what?"

"You need to work on kissing."


	3. Midorima and Takao

Note: This is Christmas afternoon. This is not the same time setting as Akashi and Kuroko's story nor Kise and Aomine's story.

_This is extremely stupid. I hope he has a good reason for interrupting my private and free on this day. Absolutely unforgivable; I had to cancel my pedicure appointment. _Midorima shook his head in disgust. He had had the whole day planned out. Oha Asa had told him Cancers would have a bad day and should stay on the safe side. He only wanted to get a short pedicure on his left hand and stay home for the rest of the day.

Takao had different plans, though. Takao wanted to do something special on this utterly useless holiday and picked him to be his 'partner in crime' for the day. Also, Takao just happened to know that he was the one that stole their captain's special keychain at a game because it contained his lucky item. So Midorima had no choice but to comply with the first year's command and come over to his house.

"Not only is this inconvenient, but it is also snowing," Midorima muttered. The sounds of snow crunching beneath his feet irritated him to no ends. His heavy clothes and scarf were annoying too, as they got in the way whenever he wanted to move around. Winter was his least favorite season. Other than the Winter Cup, he didn't have anything to look forward to.

"Shin-ch~an!" Takao opened his front door before he even reached the driveway. "You came!"

"Of course I came," Midorima said, ticked. "I didn't have a choice."

"What are you talking about? Of course you did," the shorter waved him off while he locked his door with one hand.

The green-head sighed and pushed up his glasses with his middle finger. "So what are your plans?"

Takao skipped happily in front of Midorima. Because of their large height difference (Midorima being 195 centimeters and him being 176 centimeters), he had to look up to meet the narrow pair of green eyes. "What plans?"

Midorima took a deep, controlled breath. "You called me here because you said you wanted to do something. So, what are your plans?"

"Oh," Takao put a finger to his chin. "Then . . . let's go to the new restaurant that opened!"

The shooter sighed. "Fine. But it better not be far; Oha Asa said I should stay on the safe side, today."

"Yeah, yeah." Takao rolled his eyes, used to his partner's horoscope obsession. "It's close by; we can even walk." Midorima didn't reply.

Both basketball players walked at a leisurely pace through the city. Midorima looked in disgust at every Christmas decoration there was. Takao only waved at people eagerly, creeping people out and had kids running away from him. He sulked when the green-head punched him to stop him from attracting any more attention.

"Hey, look, Shin-chan!" Takao suddenly yelled. Midorima winced at the loud shout. "It's like some secret garden or something!"

He looked at the direction Takao was pointing at. It was one of those abandoned back lots that weren't used anymore, so it was fenced off from the society. A rusty, black gate cut off all entrances to the abandoned place. Through the gate, though, the two could see the ground was covered in inches of snow. Dead and new weeds sprung wildly around the borders against the old, brick buildings. There was a run-down bench that sat in a corner, the seat blanketed by snow.

It looked so quiet and secluded; Midorima longed for that place.

Takao caught the look on his partner's face. He tugged on Midorima's coat. "Let's go in there!"

"What? No!" The green-head ripped Takao's grip away from him. "That's trespassing."

"Oh, come on, no one would notice."

Midorima contemplated the quiet back lot and the oblivious pedestrians around it. No one even bothered to look their way, and no one would be able to see them if they went further into the back corners. The place seemed so peaceful . . . "Fine," he hissed. "But only for a few minutes. Then we're jumping back out."

Takao clapped his hands.

Since Midorima was the taller of the two, Takao was the first to climb over the fence with Midorima as a boost. The green-head climbed over right after, easily. "Woah, snow in here is deep!" the black-haired teen exclaimed. It was true. Since no one came here to sweep the snow, and since the ground was so even, the snow piled up. Right now, it reached all the way up to their shins. "Aw, and I didn't wear snow pants."

"Stop complaining. You wanted to be here," Midorima retorted. "And keep your voice low. We don't want anyone to know we're here."

"Eh? But it's so silent in here! We need more noise!"

Shintaro closed his eyes and pushed up his glasses. "If you naively think noise beats silence, then you obviously—" Something cold hit his face. Not just a regular, temperature cold. It was a freezing, icy, numbing cold, _wet_ object that had hit his face. White particles filled Midorima's glasses, clouding his vision. His mouth had been open, so drops of ice fell onto his tongue and melted immediately. Snow fell toward the ground.

Takao laughed loudly and pointed, "You should see your face, Shin-chan!" he cried. "You look so—you look so—" He was interrupted by a face full of snow.

Soon, an all-out snowball fight thundered in the small, secluded place. With plenty of snow, each teen childishly built a 'snow fort' and stocked on their 'ammo', which were snow balls. Midorima, who was the number one ace shooter, always hit Takao right in the face, based on trajectory and angle.

Takao, however, had a fast arm and threw random snowballs quickly toward Midorima's direction. Some hit the target; some didn't. Either way, both experienced many snowballs in the eyes, mouth, and/or nose for the next following minutes.

By the time they had tired of making extra snowballs, each one had soaking wet clothes, from their jackets to their jeans. They now sat next to each other on the bench (after pushing all of the snow on the seat to the ground), breathing hard, shivering as the cold wind brushed against their skin. Since they hadn't planned on having a snowball fight, they didn't bring any extra clothes with them. For now, they were stuck with soggy, freezing clothes.

Takao chattered his teeth violently. His clothes, which had once helped him warm, were now attacking him. He could literally feel his body turning numb. _Why did I throw that snowball? _He thought stupidly. Well, at that time, he couldn't really help it. Midorima had looked so serious that Takao _had_ to throw snow at him. Now he regretted it though because he was freezing and no matter how much he chattered and shivered, he wasn't getting any warmer.

An arm wrapped around his body and pulled him against another. Slight warmth enveloped him. Takao looked at the arm, and then looked at Midorima questionably. The green-head refused to meet his partner's eyes and was looking up at the sky to hide his faint blush. Takao smiled and snuggled closer the larger frame.

"Neh, Shin-chan?"

"Hm?" the prideful player pushed up his glasses, a habit he did when he was either nervous or arrogant.

There was a hesitant pause. "I . . . like you," Takao confessed. Both of their faces burned in embarrassment. Midorima didn't move or make a sound of acknowledgement at the confession. In fact, if you didn't notice the green-head's face, you would think he hadn't heard it at all.

It was silent for a long time. So long that, Takao had a sinking feeling in his chest. What was he thinking; revealing his feelings to the shooter? Especially on this holiday, the same holiday Midorima hated, and when he was in a foul mood? Takao tried to get out of Midorima's hold, but he found the arm around him impossible to remove. It even felt like the hold was tightening around him. He gazed at the emotionless ace shooter in confusion.

"I . . . do, too," Midorima muttered.

"Huh?" Takao blinked and leaned in listen clearly. Midorima mumbled it again. "I can't hear you, Shin-chan!"

"I said I do too!" he said loudly, frustrated. He felt his blood rushing to his face. "Like you . . . I mean."

It took awhile for Takao to process Midorima's words. The black-haired teen blinked, then blinked again, and then dropped his jaw. When he did comprehend the words fully, though, Takao shut his mouth and smiled a sly smile. "Aw, Shin-chan!" he cried and encircled his arms around Midorima's waist. "You're so _tsundere_!"

"Oi!" Midorima protested. He tried to pry off the persistent teen, but to no avail. Midorima sighed, giving up, and patted the soft, black hair awkwardly. "We should get going, soon. It's too cold to stay out here."

Takao sighed. "Yeah," he said. "We can go to my house. I have spare clothes that you can fit. We don't have to go to that restaurant anymore; we can just stay at home." Turning his head, he stared into Midorima's green eyes. "If—you want, of course. It's your choice."

"No," The green head looked at his left hand. His bandages were soaking wet. "I'd rather we stay at your house. It's fine."

Takao's face lit up. _Finally, I get to spend a holiday all alone with Shin-chan._


	4. Murasakibara and Himuro

Note: This is not the same time setting as all the other stories.

A small, melodic chime signaled throughout the store. Some customers shivered as the icy breeze rushed through and swarmed around their bodies. Two tall players stepped inside the shop. The cashier widened her eyes at the abnormally tall Japanese customers. They shouldn't be that tall, right? Maybe they were foreigners or half Japanese.

Contrary to people's beliefs though, the two were fully Japanese and were simply tall for their race and age.

"This smells so good, Muro-chin," the tallest said happily, inhaling a deep breath in the store. The sweet aroma of peppermints, chocolate, peanut-butter, raspberry, and all the other flavors made the purple-haired teen drool.

"I think it smells too sweet," the shorter disagreed.

"What are you talking about? There's no such thing as too sweet, Muro-chin." Murasakibara Atsushi, standing at 208 centimeters tall, took off his stuffy long scarf and shoved it in his pocket. "These winter clothes are annoying."

"It's better than you catching a cold and missing a game," Tatsuya retorted.

"Ah-h, but games are so boring," Murasakibara whined. His eyes, though, were trained intensely on the bags of chocolate in front of him. He licked his lips. In clear labels, the chocolate packages had caramel, mint, and even tea-flavored chocolate. He had also heard that this store was the first to get the new flavor of candy canes.

Tatsuya rolled his eyes at his teammate's behavior. "Go," he shooed.

"Huh?" the giant looked down to his partner.

"Get whatever you want. I'll pay."

Murasakibara's face looked like a kid who was told he could ditch school and go to an amusement park. He immediately dashed—more like took two, _long_ strides—toward the new flavor section of candies. His large hands grabbed five bags at a time. People stared wide-eyed at the child-like teenager. Tatsuya put a hand over his face and went to the chocolate section, pretending he didn't know him.

"Bacon flavored chocolate?" Tatsuya made a face of disgust and bent over to read more of the label. "I swear I saw this in America . . ."

In the end, the black-haired teen only collected one bag of chocolates, the flavors varying mints, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. _Normal flavored chocolates are better than all of these eccentric flavors,_ he thought.

"Atsushi," Tatsuya called. "Are you—_How much did you get?_" he exclaimed. The last part came out in English by accident. (Note: Tatsuya prefers to speak English than Japanese in the manga). He was amazed at how much candy Murasakibara held.

The tall basketball player came around the corner, each hand carrying _five _bags, each filled to the very top. Moreover, unlike Tatsuya's, his bags were the large size, not the small. Candy canes, chocolate, jawbreakers, gummy bears and other exotic candies sat in the bag happily, ready to be paid and eaten. "That—that's way too much, Atsushi!"

"Aw!" Murasakibara protested. "But Muro-chin said I can get whatever I want! And I want all of these!"

A grown adult with a small child coughed and hid her laugh at the childish behavior the teen was emitting. Tatsuya threw a glare at the adult before turning his gaze back to the ten bags of candy. He winced. His poor wallet would be deprived for a few days.

"Fine, but," he held up a finger. "Only if you go to all the practices we have planned for the next month."

Reluctantly, Murasakibara complied.

"That would be 4,422 yen," the cashier said nervously. She didn't like the way the tall giant looked. _I have never met a customer that spends 4,000 yen on candy, _she thought.

Tatsuya grudgingly gave her the amount and told her to keep the change. "Thank you; please come again."

"Here." He gave the ridiculously large bag that held the 10 smaller bags of candies. "Don't eat it all at the same time," he warned.

Murasakibara didn't acknowledge the comment and immediately ripped open the bag of chocolates with mysterious flavors. "I heard this flavor didn't arrive in Akita, yet!" The giant remarked. He bit into it. Some red liquid flowed out from the big bite. Tatsuya watched as Atsushi chewed and tasted the sweet slowly. His eyes sparkled. "This is so . . . so . . . delicious!" Murasakibara stuffed the whole chocolate bar in his mouth, smearing it around his mouth, chin, and—for _some_ reason—his nose.

The black haired player shook his head. "Let's sit somewhere before you die from being distracted by candy and end up getting hit by a car."

"Your imagination is big, Muro-chin."

They found an empty bench at a nearby park. It had stopped snowing a long time ago, so the children were out running around and playing with their parents. Murasakibara dug through his stash to pull out another unknown sweet. Tatsuya pulled out a Pocky package.

"Eh-h? Muro-chin, you got the regular flavored one?"

"The original is best," was his only reply. He absent-mindedly nibbled on one pocky stick, staring at the happy children before him. Murasakibara gazed at him for a moment, looked through his bags to look for his Pocky, and then turned back to whine,

"Muro-chin! I didn't get the original kind. Give me some of yours!"

Tatsuya gave him an incredulous look. "No! You have a whole bag of candy with different flavors! Why do you need the original?"

"Because!"

"Because _what?"_

Murasakibara crossed his arms. "Just because."

Himuro grabbed out another pocky stick and held it in his mouth. "You're such a child. You don't need to-!" His eyes widened as Murasakibara's face closed in on him. He could smell his partner's scent and feel his breath. Atsushi bit off the other end of the pocky stick that was being held with Himuro's mouth. Then he sat back and chewed on the stolen cracker thoughtfully.

"Hm , no, you're wrong, Muro-chin. The other flavors are better." The purple-head looked nonchalant and lazy, as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

"A-Atsushi," Tatsuya protested. "You can't just bite off something that's being held in someone's mouth!" He inwardly cringed at how awkward at sounded.

"Eh?" Murasakibara looked at Tatsuya innocently. "Why not?"

Tatsuya didn't have a proper answer. "It was mine."

Atsushi pouted. "Fine, then Muro-chin can have a part of this." He took out a plastic packet, opened it, and out came a sugared basketball sweet. _They make those? _Tatsuya thought. "Humph. Here," Murasakibara handed it to Tatsuya. "Wait, no," he took it back, looked at it thoughtfully, and then took a large bite out of it. "Now you can try," he hummed and handed it out again.

Himuro raised an eyebrow at the half-eaten basketball. He leaned it and took a delicate bite from the sugared candy. It immediately melted in his mouth. "Well, well?" the purple-haired asked. "It's good, right?"

"Too sweet," Tatsuya emotionlessly said.

"Nothing is too sweet," Murasakibara stubbornly argued. "Oh! Muro-chin!"

"What is it, now?"

"We just had an indirect kiss!"

Tatsuya looked at Murasakibara in alarm. Well, to other people, it looked like a poker face. To the purple-head, it looked like he was shocked. Then, the black-head looked toward the ground, embarrassed. "Don't—don't say such childish things, Atsushi."

He licked his lollipop nonchalantly. "Your face looks cute." Tatsuya's blush became evident.

A large hand came over his. Himuro looked at his hand in surprise, and found Murasakibara holding onto it firmly. He looked up to the giant's face, but found no change in emotion. Did the purple-head even realize what he was doing?

"Neh . . . Muro-chin?" Murasakibara asked quietly.

Tatsuya turned his head fully toward Atsushi, "What—"

A pair of rough lips pressed against his. Tatsuya's eyes fluttered wide open. Murasakibara held tight onto his shoulders. He couldn't move for a few seconds. The kiss tasted like a variety of candies and very sweet and Tatsuya found himself wanting more of the taste. Unfortunately, it ended quickly.

Atsushi pulled away just a few inches from his face. Tatsuya found himself staring at a frowning face. "Was that—too sweet for Muro-chin?" he asked.

Tatsuya blinked. Then he burst out laughing. "No," he moved in to kiss the pair of candy-tasting lips. "It wasn't too sweet."

(And that is the end of the Christmas Special. Thank you 3)


End file.
